Last week, Washington announced that it was going to review its official team name due to recent events around the United States and feedback from the community. Even FedEx CEO Frederick Smith, who is also a minority owner in Dan Snyder's franchise as well as head of the company that sponsors the team's home stadium, is requesting a change. This is becoming more and more likely, as apparel is flying off the shelves -- but not in a good way. Companies like Nike, Dick's, Target and Wal-Mart have recently stopped selling Washington merchandise, and another big name is now joining them. According to Annie Palmer of CNBC.com, Amazon is removing all of its Washington merchandise from its website.
In a note to sellers on Wednesday, Amazon said that it would pull a variety of products featuring the Washington team, including jerseys, t-shirts and jewelry. Sellers were given 48 hours to review and remove any products flagged by Amazon, the notice states.
"With the announcement from the Washington team and the NFL, we are removing products with the team's name and logo from our stores," according to the notice, which was shared by Ed Rosenberg, who runs an online seller group called ASGTG. "Failure to properly close or delete all restricted product listings from your inventory may result in deactivation."
Over the weekend, Washington head coach Ron Rivera told The Washington Post that he would support a name change. Rivera added that it would be "awesome" if a new team name could be integrated before the start of the 2020 season.
"My eyes are wide open," said Rivera, who also said that he and Washington ownership have already discussed new team name options. "We came up with a couple of names -- two of them I really like."
This would be a big move since training camp is just on the horizon, but not impossible. Recently, CBS Sports NFL writer Jared Dubin created a list of possible name options for Washington. Washington would not become the first NFL franchise to change names. Far from it, actually, as more than a fourth of NFL teams have overseen a name change during the league's first 100 years.
